Sweet Revenge
by lockiesaurus
Summary: Gotham seems especially calm this Christmas, however, what happens if the jolly season is broken by the many foes of Batman, all prepared and ready to take down the Gotham vigilante. Terrorizing the streets, will they be too much for the Dark Knight to handle all at once? (Rated T for mature themes, strong language and possibility of violence!)
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own any of the characters/places/etc.

_This will be written from the POV of a few of the villains, including the Riddler, Joker (+ Harley Quinn), Poison Ivy, Mr Freeze, etc._

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><p>There you have it! It took a long time, but finally, Riddler managed to jot down quite a few new riddles that he could use against the nemesis, "hero" of the city. A smile build on the man's face, a large, proud smile. Let's see exactly the hero will stand against him! He was a mere cheater, a scum... His mind didn't even compare to himself and yet, he managed to cheat his way through so many of his riddles.<p>

Not these though. No. He made sure of that. There were notes, blueprints, folders, stacks of clean pages scattered messily across a smaller square table that happened to be left in the abandoned factory that he took as his new base. Tapping his cane on the ground on the floor in a certain rhythm, he cackled. Batman will regret the day that he met him.

Well, by now he should already have, but there was always something wrong with his plans. He's been out of Arkham for over a month now, not by their stupid law and rules, either. It had to be done precisely, but he broke himself out. Frankly, it had been easier than he expected. As one of the most highly protected places in Gotham City, it wasn't surprising someone like himself, someone with a mind like his own would so easily break out of the godforsaken place. In fact, it was pretty easy to predict.

Clearly the passes have been removed, and passwords put in their places. The keys were hidden from the patients, and most couldn't hear the beeps that the keys made, but he... his cell was close enough he managed to remember it. For the sole purpose of security, they changed the code every month. Truth be told it was actually easy to remember the code the very first month it was introduced.

Every day from that moment, he had been humming it not to forget. Due to that, the guards became slightly more hostile, to his disregard. A simple, "Is singing or humming against any of the rules?" was quick to shut them up, made them look guilty, and him? Made him smirk. Easy to manipulate and easy to outsmart. Beforehand, for good behavior, he earned himself short crossword book to fill in.

Pretending to be hurt, he at first stared at the guard who was currently standing before his cell, intriguing him the slightest bit until he stared at him for a good few minutes. It only took an act of fainting to have him open his cell, and being knocked out quite easily when his senses weren't as sharp as they were supposed to be. Thanks Arkham for hiring those idiots. Dressing himself into the uniform of the guard, he began to head out of the cell, thankful to the shadows cast around the hall. Thanks to those it was hard to make out his face. Closing the cell behind him, he walked up to the keypad.

Humming the same note he's been for the past while, he stepped outside and began to wonder around the stretching, deep halls of the Asylum he knew a little too well from his earlier escapes, or the way the guards would pull him into the corridor.

It didn't take too long before he found the area were the private belonging of the inmates were kept, seeking through the cabinets, he clapped his hands cheerfully as he pulled out green and purple clothes, along with a mask and a cane. Around where the holder would have his hand on, there was a question mark. Stripping off the guard uniform, he put on his suit, twirling happily. He was back, ready!

And so, he began to head off to the exit, swinging his cane in a circular movement as he walked, whistling. Batman will regret the day that he stood upon him.

Since the time arrived, he lifted himself off his perch and lifted a green jacket that he earlier hang over the rest, pulling it on and humming softly in anticipation. This should be interesting enough! Ready as he'll ever be, swinging his cane, with a walk similar to the one that night he broke out of Arkham, he exited his hideout for the first time since he found it.

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><p>"HAAAAAARLEY!"<p>

A sneer of impatience sounded from a small office inside some abandoned hotel. Actually, he wasn't too sure what this was himself. Never had time to explore the upper levels. Relaxing his shoulders, he waited for the harlequin to come over, if she heard him that is. He made sure that whatever the circumstances were, she would.

Indeed, it took mere seconds for an excited blonde to hop into the office, blinking rapidly with wide blue eyes. "Yes, Mistah J?" She cooed curiously. He walked up to her in a slow pace, rubbing her shoulders as soon as he was close enough, causing a slight tint of pink to arrive to her cheeks. "Is everything ready, Harles?" Joker asked her with a trademark grin stretching over his snow-colored face at an enthusiastic nod coming from the girl.

Letting his hands fall loosely from her shoulders, he threw them up into the air, clapping them with a loud chuckle. "Great! Fantastic!" He exclaimed, as Harley took a seat on the desk he'd been sitting behind earlier. Kicking her feet in the air, she watched with desire and happiness, glad to have made her Puddin' as happy as he was.

For a few good minutes he circled the room, blueprints and notes stuck all across the walls, along with a few pictures, involving a couple of the vigilante of the Gotham City. She watched him mumble to himself, setting everything in his head that one final time before the big time would come, appearing to be proud of himself as he memorized everything. If this was supposed to work, he'll need to know the plan so well he could tell it off by heart even in sleep. Taking that he actually did sleep the given night, for he rarely found the actual time to rest.

Not like he needed that, though, he managed perfectly fine without wasting the useful time, like people did. It was useless, and could be used for other, more necessary things. "Now, Harley, let's go and make a speech of a lifetime, shall we?" He grinned again, quite darkly, though she didn't even flinch only jumped off the desk and joined his side eagerly. Wrapping an arm around her, he led them off, laughing.

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><p>The green-tinted hand pulled out another spade of earth from the ground. For a while, Pamela Isley led a fairly peaceful life. She's been trying her best to prove that she could last in sanity, though it wasn't going to well. She found a house with a large garden, barely leaving it. She loved the space it gave her babies. With a large smile, she watched vines and all the rarest of flowers moving in the provided by her light, moving unnaturally.<p>

This time, they weren't meant to hurt anyone, merely keep her company. Apparently they caught Catwoman again and Harley was back with that abusive bastard, leaving her without any real friends to turn to. Maybe she could help Catwoman break out? They could return, plan something, maybe pull a plan together and use it for some fun around Gotham?

Life's been pretty boring as of late, but that was fine with her, only she's been a little restless lately. It had been too calm you could say. At least for her liking. Maybe after all she was meant to creative havoc? Humming a peaceful tune under her breath, she walked out onto the street back at the front of her house, looking around. All still and quiet. Although some children were running about the pavements, some falling onto dull, almost yellow grass. Clenching her fists, Pamela took series of deep breaths to calm herself.

Whenever though one of the children ripped out a plant from it's spot on the earth and began to thrown the petals around, being left with only the stem and ripping it apart, she fell to her knees helplessly. She screamed, like she felt the agony of the dying thing, clutching either side of her face. The children stopped and stared at the boy with a single part of the stem in his hand.

Wildly looking around, he picked up a flower and brought it over to the screaming woman, offering it up to her. It was the same flower he killed, only ripped with the roots out. "Um... I-I'm sorry... I n-neve-er m-mean-nt to... Bu-ut..." He glanced away at his friends, clearly scared of the criminal. She looked up with tears of fury brimming in the corners of her eyes. "C-coul-ld you hel-lp me-e s-sav-ve th-his on-ne?" HE asked gently, and she accepted the flower reluctantly.

Growing a dark smirk on her face, a dangerous one, the boy began to back away, while the 'insane' as they called her Pamela began to dig a small hole in the earth with her fingernails, planting the flower inside of it. With ease, she blew an odd, purple powder at it, and it grew. Grew. And grew, up to approximately two meters in height.

Lacking hesitation, it's leaves began to stretch outwards from it's body, finding the young boy and wrapping tightly around his body, preventing escape. The other children began to scream for help, running in different directions. Some, her baby caught as well, and squeezed into unconsciousness. This was it. Poison Ivy has returned.

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><p>So close... so close, and yet... He still couldn't get to it. Running a gloved hand over the freezing surface of the ice block that a figure could be seen inside. One of a woman, who lay stiffly, frozen over with a thick layer of the ice that her husband used to preserve her life. Nora. His dear, dear Nora. He kept mumbling despite not being certain whether she heard him or not.<p>

Overall, this was no ordinary coma or anything.

This was a life-saving action that he found needed to proceed with to save her. He'll freely make a cure now. Moving away from her, he sighed heavily, causing a faint image of vapor staining his helmet's glass. With thermal visionaries on, he glanced around, eyes narrowing as he walked over to a set of computers that he used for his research. With a few button clicks, a tube tray with a thick crimson liquid slid out of a hideout in the desk.

Only a few left. He took one and pour a few ml's into another tube, applying the cork over it again and putting it back into the tray and hiding it back. Stirring the blood of his wife softly, he scanned it over in the computer. Sitting at his desk, he worked away, most likely for a few hours. He let it escape his mind, for he didn't truly care how much time passed if only he continued working on the cure for his wife.

Standing up again, his legs stiff, he stretched a little, shaking off the feeling of sudden numbness. He walked over to another safe he had around his hideout, managing to open it. Looking inside, behind the red-colored goggles, his eyes stretched wide. "No. No. NO!" He screamed, almost punching a hole in the wall as he looked quickly around. What happened to his formula? He needed it! _Nora _needed it.

He walked out on the other corridor, where the back of the safe would be and saw the tiniest hole, enough to be made by one of the utensils of... Growling, his lips parting in a snarl, he stormed off back to the main area of his hideout, where he went on to take a few of his weapons, picking the deadliest and most important ones. He then walked over to Nora's body and pressed his glass helmet over the ice, closing his eyes for a few moments, inhaling deeply. "I'm so sorry, darling. I was so close... so close... I'll bring you back." He vowed, sending her a kiss as he hid her away.

After quite a few of his rivals wanted to get to him through capturing his wife, he started to hide her in a specially organized area to which only he had the access to, so nothing, absolutely _nothing_ dared to touch her during his absence. Which, unless he was send to the Asylum, never lasted too long. Even when he was, he always had a picture of her before her illness with him, taking it wherever he went.

It worked well to keep him calm most of the time. "Nobody steals from me, Batman." He whispered dangerously low as he slipped out of the building and out into the open.

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><p>Decisions were hard to make, only why were they hard when specifically a flip of the coin was supposed to save the trouble. Harvey Dent, AKA Two-Face flipped his coin again, for the hundredth time. It was pretty large, with two sides the same, 'liberty' written on both sides, with the difference the other side was scratched. Like his very own face.<p>

Thanks to a split personality disorder, he couldn't exactly make rational decisions himself. Hell, he would argue with himself all night if it was left up to him. Or them. Whatever it was referred to as. For a simpler resolving, he simply used the coin to get the decisions over and done with quickly, rather than sitting over them for a couple hours straight. It was too difficult to make a choice that way. Shaking his head, Harvey closed his eyes.

Something was up with his coin, that's for sure. Or maybe for the first time he's actually taken matters into his own hands? His eyes flickered open. That sounded... reasonable. Too reasonable to be true, honestly. It couldn't be, no, he hasn't done that in a matter of years... This kind of stuff didn't just pop out of nowhere! He flipped the coin to see if perhaps it should be considered an option.

Scratched.

Huh.

He threw again, with the same question, which also didn't happen that often, grunting. Why couldn't he accept the coin's word? He thought up another question, most likely a repeated one, and flipped the silver item between his fingers, glancing down at it in anticipation. Clear. Grinning, he stood up. Finally something rational came out of that thing tonight! His chair fell with a loud thud behind him. Unmoved by the action, he moved out towards the exit through the darkness of the halls that secured him for the past while.

It was time for Gotham to BURN.

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><p><strong>So there you go! I hope you enjoy this chapter as a little explanation to the next few there's going to be ^-^. The next chapter will be in Batman's POV rather than any of the seen foes above. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and will find yourself enjoying what's coming up! I should update as quick as possible with the Christmas preparations, etc. Stay put!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own any of the characters/places/etc.

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><p>The sun was still only setting, casting it's last rays of light, while dominating the sky spread black clouds symbolizing the lateness. It didn't take long for darkness to fully cover the city, bringing snow with it. Streets were coated in the white powder still, yet a fresh layer still fell. A little difficulty in walking on the streets. Separated from the continuous buzz of the city, Wayne Manor presented itself proudly, the driveway clear of snow thanks to the gardener.<p>

Below the ground, Bruce had been getting ready for a night escapade around Gotham. He was already prepared, wearing his suit apart from the hood, which fell stiffly over his shoulder blades. He was still inside, until it was completely dark, sitting before the batcomputer. Standing up, he pressed a few buttons over the wide keyboard and turned around, seeing the tip of the batmobile peek out from it's hiding spot beneath the bridge series that stretched across the batcave. Fitting on the hood, he walked over to it, and without hesitation, sped through one of the secret openings to the cave.

The front window quickly got sprayed with water from the waterfall that guided unwanted guests away. It was hidden pretty well, and nobody dared to come searching inside through the stories of a cave connected to the Manor. Something like that wouldn't be far from breaking in, and little people wanted trouble with Bruce Wayne, despite the image he gave to the public of being quite laid back.

As he reached the midst of Gotham, leaving the batmobile in safety, he took out his grappling hook and aimed for the nearest roof. Swiftly climbing onto the top, he looked around, watching the snow fall, making the civilians to wear a few layers of protective clothing, most on last-minute shopping for the upcoming Christmas. Narrowing his eyes, the vigilante moved silently, unseen to other buildings.

It was his job to protect the city, and it was rare to know exactly where one of his foes would strike. Through the batcomputer, he listened to the police radio, hoping that it was peaceful. Apart from notices of speedsters on the slippy streets, it was truly calm and quiet. Not good. Gotham was never quiet. Especially at Christmas time. Crouching on a billboard, he looked down at the clearing streets. Sighing, vapor appeared in the coldness of the night. A good idea of keeping the batsuit warm from the inside for winter.

Listening to the crackling of the radio closely, he went ahead to peek at the tower of the Arkham Asylum visible in the distance. He knew a few villains escaped as of late, making him worried. They never rested, it appeared. Wearing a frown, he went ahead for the clock tower, one of the taller buildings in the area. Moving across the roofs smoothly, he finally heard the radio being brought back to life.

"Reported sightings of Pamela Isley AKA Poison Ivy at the Wayne Botanical Gardens." That sounded fair enough. About to head for the property, a troubled voice sounded again through his earpiece. "Reported sightings of a man suspected to be the Joker at Amusement Mile." Pausing, Batman listened intently for any other news. "The Gotham river was frozen over. Suspect: Victor Fries AKA Mr Freeze." What the was going on?

The woman reporting sounded more and more nervous with each announcement, drawing in deep breaths for a moment before speaking again. "Reported sightings of a woman familiar to Harley Quinn not far from the Joker suspect's position." The call ended there, unluckily for mere seconds. "Edward Nygma AKA The Riddler was reported at the Brentwood Academy."

With a confused expression, Batman glanced in multiple different directions. There was no way he could be in so many places at once. "Reported sightings of Two-Face, AKA Harvey Dent at the City Hall." Then the radio broke off, including the silent crackling. Someone must have cut the radio off. Or, someone attacked and smashed the radio in progress. It should be worth checking out. Frowning deeply, he began to speed towards the GCPD station, curious to see what exactly was going on.

Perhaps they would know how it all started, or at least when. Timing was important, it showed how much time precisely the criminals had to begin to act. Landing quietly before the entrance to the police station, walking inside. Bustle of policemen and women running around, preparing for action made him narrow his eyes. Stopping a man only putting a gun onto his belt, about to leave.

Stopping him by taking a firm hold on his hand, bringing him to attention. "Where is Commissioner Gordon?" He growled, not patient enough for any comebacks. Luckily, the policeman seemed to understand the importance of the situation. Pointing him in the right direction, he pushed his way over to the entrance and running out. With little to reaction, Batman walked off to where he was told to go, finding his way into someone's office.

Whatever was happening, the room fell quickly still, both the Commissioner and the detective he was talking to stared at him with equal intrigue. The detective looked slightly angered, but left the room, leaving Batman with Gordon alone. As the older man sat on the edge of the desk, Batman walked over to the window, scanning the view out from it. "It's bad, Batman." Gordon began, shaking his head. "Really, really bad. I doubt they'll manage to stop either of them. We need your help." He murmured, shaking his head.

Drawing in a shaky breath, he looked up at the hero of Gotham. "What do you think happened?" He asked, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I don't know." Batman admitted within a whisper. "I need as much information as possible. When it all started, any information about hostages and suspicions about their plans. I'll be listening on the radio. I'll try and see what a few of them are up to myself. Be quick." He told Gordon, before silently leaving through the window. The Commissioner looked up at the open window and shook his head. "I'm too old for this." He stood up and went off to get the information needed.

Greeted by the coldness of outside, Batman started to head over to the nearest location from the police station; City Hall. Heading to the location, he silently crept on the top of Hall, narrowing his eyes to see a little better. "Seven men guarding the entrance; Two-Face must be in by now. He doesn't seem to be doing anything dangerous yet..." He murmured to himself, stalking off. He'll return later, hopefully not too soon.

In the distance the first of the police sirens were called off, snatching the man's attention for a single moment. Looking away, he stalked off in the direction of his very own gardens, heading straight for Ivy. His earpiece was brought to life with a soft crack, Gordon's voice ringing straight into his right ear. "We've found everything you asked for. Best to start with Pamel- Poison Ivy. Seems she began the riot. Exactly an hour before the others. She's likely to have done something in that time." Thanking the Commissioner, he went ahead.

Since he was in fact already going in the direction, he stuck to the very same path, treading over the snow-covered rooftops of Gotham City. He knew the place like the back of his hand, thanks to which it didn't take too long before he arrived at the gardens. Slowly edging his way through the like-maze structure, the Dark Knight looked around cautiously.

Sings of Poison Ivy's presence were clear in view. Large roots sprouting from what originally were only small, still growing trees which now threatened to pierce the night sky. Screams echoed through the blossoming walls surrounding, dying off due to most likely the hypnosis toxin that Ivy was popular for creating. Extremely hard to resist. Whoever she got her hands on were probably as good as zombies by now.

Better to be careful. His duty was to protect the innocents of Gotham; not hurt them. Moving through the darkness, the gardens deserted after all the shifts were over, only the few of the night ones remaining, which he knew the schedules of too, which might prove itself useful. Laying a gloved hand on his utility belt, he moved ahead, looking around in all possible directions, making sure to know precisely what was happening, not letting himself to get surprised.

Crouching, he moved around a corner, nearing dangerously close to the heart of the structure. There were occasional steps in the distance, none nearing him. That must have meant he was getting closer to finding Ivy. Climbing onto a pipe that was applied over the ceiling, he moved on from one to another, like a monkey across branches of a tree. Remaining in the position, he eyed a larger root, landing without a sound on the floor and kneeling beside it. Running his finger over the surface, he began to follow it. The longer the way, the more plants were brought into view, many a little bigger than the ordinary man.

In the middle of his investigation, he happen to find a large plot of vines and roots, together bounding a chair shape. Breathing in deeply, he hid behind the throne that Ivy must have prepared for herself. Looking over the side, he lowered himself to make sure he couldn't be seen. "Have you found anything yet?" Ivy. No reply came, someone must have nodded or shook their heads instead of verbally replying. "Well, what are you waiting for?!"

Furrowing his eyebrows, hidden by the mask, Batman froze at an unknown voice that called out from ahead. "I don't think we have to go far. Isn't that right, Batman?"


End file.
